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Any reason to celebrate the National Film Board of Canada is a good one; the NFB is a model for government-funded arts organizations, both in the freedom granted its filmmakers and its long string of successes.

Animation is overtaking the streets of downtown Montreal’s entertainment district, the Quartier des Spectacles, and various cities in Scotland in honor of Norman McLaren's centennial.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival begins tomorrow in Canada, but fret not for New Yorkers who can’t make it—a small part of the festival experience is coming to you.

On Wednesday, September 25, the National Film Board of Canada will present its latest works, headlined by stereoscopic 3D screenings of Subconscious Password by Oscar-winning director Chris Landreth (Ryan) and Gloria Victoria by award-winning filmmaker Theodore Ushev (Lipsett Diaries, Tower Bawher). Landreth and Ushev will attend the screening to discuss their work. Both of these guys are thoughtful artists whose intelligence shines through their work. Their films are always worth seeing and these new works are no exception.

The screening, which is co-sponsored by ASIFA-East and Dimitris Athos of BeFilm, will also include presentations of the following films: Hollow Land by Michelle and Uri Kranot (Dansk Tegnefilm/Les Films de l’Arlequin/NFB), The End of Pinky by Claire Blanchet and Impromptu by Bruce Alcock (Global Mechanic Media/NFB).

The event will take place at the Park Avenue Screening Room (500 Park Avenue at 59th Street). Entry is FREE, but it’s open only to current ASIFA-East members. Tickets are limited and seats must be reserved.

The <Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which concluded on June 15th, awarded its Cristal prize for feature to the Brazilian film, Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury. The festival’s Cristal for short film went to the NFB short Subconscious Password, a CG/pixilation effort by Oscar-winner Chris Landreth (Ryan).

The complete list of winners is below:

The Cristal for best feature
Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury
Directed by Luiz Bolognesi (Brazil)

The Cristal for best short
Subconscious Password
Directed by Chris Landreth (Canada)

The Cristal for best TV production
Room on the Broom
Directed by Jan Lachauer and Max Lang (Great Britain)

The Cristal for best commissioned film
Dumb Ways to Die
Directed by Julian Frost (Australia)

Feature Films: Special Distinction
My Mommy Is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill
Directed by Marc Boréal and Thibaut Chatel (France/Luxembourg)

Feature Films: Audience Award
O Apóstolo
Directed by Fernando Cortizo Rodriguez (Spain)

Short Films: Special Jury Award
The Wound
Directed by Anna Budanova (Russia)

Short Films: Distinction for a first film
Trespass
Directed by Paul Wenninger (Austria)

Short Films: Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a first film
Norman
Directed by Robbe Vervaeke (Belgium)

Short Films: Special Distinction
The Triangle Affair
Directed by Andres Tenusaar (Estonia)

Short Films: Sacem Award for original music
Lonely Bones
Directed by Rosto (The Netherlands)

Short Films: Junior Jury Award
Feral
Directed by Daniel Sousa (USA)

Short Films: Audience Award
Lettres de femmes
Directed by Augusto Zanovello (France)

TV: Special Award for a TV series
Tom & The Queen Bee
Directed by Andreas Hykade (Germany)

TV: Award for best TV special
Poppety in the Fall
Directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon and Antoine Lanciaux (France)

Commissioned films: Special Jury Award
Benjamin Scheuer: “The Lion”
Directed by Peter Baynton (Great Britain)

Graduation Films: Award for best graduation film
Ab ovo
Directed by Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi (Poland)

Graduation Films: Special Jury Award
I Am Tom Moody
Directed by Ainslie Henderson (Great Britain)

Graduation Films: Special Distinction
Pandas
Directed by Matus Vizar (Slovakia)

Graduation Films: Junior Jury Award
Rabbit and Deer
Directed by Peter Vacz (Hungary)

Unicef Award
Because I’m a Girl
Directed by Raj Yagnik, Mary Matheson, and Hamilton Shona (Great Britain)

Fipresci Award
Gloria Victoria
Directed by Theodore Ushev (Canada)

Fipresci Special Distinction
Feral
Directed by Daniel Sousa (USA)

“CANAL+ creative aid” Award for a short film
Autour du lac
Directed by Carl Roosens and Noémie Marsily (Belgium)

Festivals Connexion Award – Région Rhône-Alpes with Lumières Numériques
Feral
Directed by Daniel Sousa (USA)

The Funniest Film according to the Annecy Public
KJFG No 5
Directed by Alexey Alekseev (Hungary)

The National Film Board of Canada has released a trailer and clip from Theodore Ushev’s new film Gloria Victoria which will screen at Annecy in June:

Recycling elements of surrealism and cubism, this animated short by Theodore Ushev focuses on the relationship between art and war. Propelled by the exalting “invasion” theme from Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony (No. 7), the film presents imagery of combat fronts and massacres, leading us from Dresden to Guernica, from the Spanish Civil War to Star Wars. It is at once a symphony that serves the war machine, that stirs the masses, and art that mourns the dead, voices its outrage and calls for peace.

Ushev draws upon the rich history of Modern art in Gloria Victoria, and turns it into a visceral and original animated experience. I saw a workprint last fall, and if it’s not plainly evident from these previews, it’s a mind-blowing art lover’s delight.

The winners of the 2012 Ottawa International Animation Festival were announced earlier tonight at the National Arts Center in Ottawa. The top prize for short film went to Dutch filmmaker Hisko Hulsing for his short Junkyard. The animated feature prize went to the Spanish feature Arrugas (Wrinkles) directed by Ignacio Ferreras. It’s Such a Beautiful Day by Don Hertzfeldt picked up the audience prize.

I Am Tom Moody by Ainslie Henderson picked up two awards, including the grand prize for best student animation. Two films in this year’s Cartoon Brew Student Animation Festival were also recognized: Kyle Mowat’s Ballpit won best graduate animation and Noam Sussman’s Gum won the Canadian student animation award.

The complete list of winners is below:

Nelvana GRAND PRIZE for Best Independent Short Animation
Junkyard directed by Hisko Hulsing, Netherlands

GRAND PRIZE for Best Animated Feature
Arrugas (Wrinkles) directed by Ignacio Ferreras, Spain

Walt Disney GRAND PRIZE for Best Student Animation
I Am Tom Moody directed by Ainslie Henderson, Edinburgh College of Art, UK

GRAND PRIZE for Best Commissioned Animation
Primus “Lee Van Cleef” by Chris Smith, USA

Best Animation School Showreel
Supinfocom (France)

BEST Narrative Short
A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard, STUDIO AKA, USA

BEST Experimental/Abstract Animation
Rivière au Tonnerre directed by Pierre Hébert, Canada

Adobe Prize for BEST High School Animation
The Bean by Hae Jin Jung, Gyeonggi Art High School, South Korea

Honourable Mention:
La Soif Du Monde (Thirsty Frog) by a Collective: 12 Children, Camera-etc, Belgium

BEST Undergraduate Animation
Reizwäsche by Jelena Walf & Viktor Stickel, Germany

BEST Graduate Animation
Ballpit directed by Kyle Mowat, Sheridan College, Canada

BEST Promotional Animation
Red Bull ‘Music Academy World Tour’ by Pete Candeland, Passion Pictures, UK

BEST Music Video
The First Time I Ran Away by Joel Trussell, USA

BEST Television Animation for Adults
Portlandia: “Zero Rats” by Rob Shaw, USA

BEST Short Animation Made for Children
Beethoven’s Wig directed by Alex Hawley & Denny Silverthorne, Canada

Honourable Mentions:
Au Coeur de L’Hiver directed by Isabelle Favez, Switzerland
Why do we Put up with Them? directed by David Chai, USA

BEST Television Animation Made for Children
Regular Show: “Eggscellent” by JC Quintel, Cartoon Network

Honourable Mention:
Adventure Time: “Jake vs. Me-Mow” by Pendleton Ward, Cartoon Network, USA

The National Film Board of Canada PUBLIC PRIZE
It’s Such a Beautiful Day directed by Don Hertzfeldt, USA

Canadian Film Institute Award for BEST Canadian Animation
Nightingales in December directed by Theodore Ushev, Canada

Honourable Mentions
Ballpit directed by Kyle Mowat, Sheridan College, Canada
MacPherson directed by Martine Chartrand, National Film Board of Canada, Canada

BEST Canadian Student Animation Award
Gum by Noam Sussman, Sheridan College, Canadaa

Honourable Mentions
Ballpit by Kyle Mowat, Sheridan College, Canada
Tengri by Alisi Telengut, Concordia University, Canada

The Ottawa Media Jury Award
For the best short competition film, as deemed by the local Ottawa Media, consisting of:

-Peter Simpson (Ottawa Citizen)
-Sandra Abma (CBC)
-Fateema Sayani (Ottawa Magazine)
-Denis Armstrong (Ottawa Sun)

I Am Tom Moody by Ainslie Henderson, Edinburgh College of Art, UK

Nightingales in December

Watch the film after the jump (due to auto-play on the video):

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Canada, Theo Ushev, Theodore Ushev

Good morning! This short animated film by Théodore Ushev is like an animated shot of adrenaline. (More films by Théodore Ushev)

Nothing like a little Russian constructivism to get you pumped up for your day. Enjoy!

Also check out Ushev’s blog.

Posted by Matt Forsythe on Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog | Permalink | No comments
Tags: Animation, NFB, Russian, Theodore Ushev